I had highlighted this in a post a few weeks ago. I’m not sure how many people caught it.

Question: What ever happened to the new highway proposed to run through the fast-growing lower Puna area south of Hilo?

Answer: Community criticism and a vaguely worded regional traffic plan appeared to put the Puna Makai Alternate Route in limbo when the concept was approved in 2005.

But Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi kept the concept alive last month with a request for $2 million for the project as part of a $487 million wish list for federal economic stimulus funds.

The Puna Makai road would serve an area expected to be home to 53,000 people by 2030. Only one highway now leads in and out of the area, and the uncertainty of the situation was shown in 2007 when lava flows temporarily appeared to be a possible threat to the highway…